Quality of service is one of the reasons customers choose to dine at one restaurant over another. The goal of restaurant employees is to enhance the dining experience for customers. Therefore, when a waiter welcomes customers to an upscale restaurant, he has an opportunity to make the restaurant's first impression, whether it's a repeat customer or a customer who is dining at the restaurant for the first time. The way a waiter greets the restaurant's customer can result in gaining another regular customer.

Skills

Waiters responsible for greeting customers must have excellent communication skills in addition to the capability of discerning the customer's needs without being overbearing or intrusive. Upscale restaurant waiters often are hired because they understand how to handle a wide range of clientele while maintaining a polite and sophisticated demeanor. While they may not be the primary point of contact for the restaurant's customers, there are times when the waiter must provide excellent customer service from the first moment of contact with a customer, whether it's on the telephone, at the hostess desk or after the customer has been seated.

Reservations

Greeting customers who call the restaurant for reservations can be particularly challenging for a waiter unless he has knowledge of the reservation system, seating logistics and the expertise and skills of a maître d' or hostess for an upscale dining room. Waiters who greet restaurant customers must be dignified and accommodating. Regular customers of the restaurant who request -- or, demand -- special attention, such as securing a reservation on an especially busy night, expect a warm reception from the waiter who is handling their reservations.

Seating

Upon the restaurant customer's arrival, the waiter's job is to extend a friendly and professional greeting. "Hello, how are you tonight? May I take your name and direct you to the coat check, while we prepare your table?" is a kind greeting for an upscale restaurant. The differences between a greeting for a 24-hour diner and an upscale dining room are familiarity and formality. Waiters who work in casual eateries are more familiar and informal when they greet their customers, particularly regulars.

Conflict

When a conflict arises between the waiter and the restaurant's customers over the first impression the waiter has made, the waiter should first attempt to resolve the customer on his own. For example, he could say, "I apologize for not acknowledging you immediately after our hostess seated you. May I take your drink order why you look at the menu?" Greeting difficult customers is something every waiter has encountered at some point in his career. The key to customer satisfaction is to not offer excuses for making a poor impression, but to immediately address the customer and offer to remedy the situation about which the customer complained.

Special Treatment

Upscale restaurants often cater to clientele that includes political figures, celebrities and business owners who may want personal attention to their needs. Certain restaurant customers prefer discretion as they might be conducting confidential business matters over a meal with colleagues or personal friends. Waiters who are assigned to greet these clients usually have cheat sheets that detail the kind of treatment they prefer. Greeting these special clients is akin to handling them with kid gloves. Waiters are expected to greet everyone in the party with a respectful tone and refrain from repeatedly interrupting dinner conversation or business affairs while serving these customers.

About the Author

Ruth Mayhew began writing in 1985. Her work appears in "The Multi-Generational Workforce in the Health Care Industry" and "Human Resources Managers Appraisal Schemes." Mayhew earned senior professional human resources certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute and holds a Master of Arts in sociology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

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